And then immediately repudiated it once they had gotten away. I read somewhere that they were coerced by the Latin bishops to give their assent. I don't know how historically accurate it is, I've only heard it recently, but it makes sense on the face of it.

The idea that the orientals as a whole were coerced doesn't really make sense considering that other schismatic groups--such as the Copts, Armenians, Chaldeans, Maronites, and Syrians (none of which were in the same political situation as the Greeks)--also sent representatives to Florence.

Furthermore, there are prominent examples of Greeks--notably Archbishop Isidore of Kiev and Cardinal Bassilius Bassarion--who remained in union with Rome even after most of their compatriots fell back into schism. Thus, the idea that the Greeks as a whole were coerced into the union seems to lack historical basis. I'm sure some of the Greek clergy were pressured into an agreement by their fellow Eastern hierarchs who--for genuine theological as well as political reasons--ardently supported union. The same can be said for a lot of bishops at a lot of councils though. It's not as if the bishops at Nicaea I weren't pressured by Constantine to accept the homoousion formula.